Life of Sir Humphry Davy. 675 



insulated form; the properties of which are yet unknown: it 

 appears to belong to the class of negative electrics, and to have a 

 powerful affinity for hydrogen and metallic substances. Though this 

 theory was his own suggestion, he acknowledges that we are 

 indebted to M. Ampere for establishing it. 



It has been stated that he gave his last public lecture in the 

 Royal Institution in April, 1812 ; he, however, afterwards delivered 

 an occasional lecture to the managers on his own discoveries, and 

 did not formally resign his professorship until the year 1813. 



* At a general monthly meeting of the members, April 5, 1813, the 

 Earl of Winchilsea in the chair, Sir Humphry Davy rose and begged 

 leave to resign his situation of Professor of Chemistry ; but he by no 

 means wished to give up his connexion with the Royal Institution, as he 

 should ever be happy to communicate his researches, in the first instance, 

 to the Institution, in the manner he did in the presence of the members 

 last Wednesday, and to do all in his power topromote the interests and 

 success of the Institution.' 



On the motion of Earl Spencer, thanks for his inestimable 

 services were voted to him unanimously, and he was elected 

 Honorary Professor of Chemistry, being succeeded as Professor by 

 Mr. Brande. In March of this year, he published his ' Elements of 

 Agricultural Chemistry.' Of this valuable work Dr. Paris has 

 given a complete review, well warranted by the importance of the 

 subject. 



Mr. Faraday has furnished to Dr. Paris a relation of the circum- 

 stances which attended his introduction to Sir Humphry Davy, 

 which, as they cannot fail to be interesting to readers of this 

 Journal, we shall briefly narrate. ' Bergman (says Dr. Paris) 

 considered the greatest of his discoveries to have been the discovery 

 of Scheele;' and among the numerous services rendered to science 

 by Davy, the amiable conduct which led to the placing Mr. Faraday 

 in the Royal Institution, and thus giving to the world ' a philosopher 

 capable of pursuing that brilliant path of inquiry which his master's 

 genius had so successfully explored,' is not the least estimable ; and 

 to use the words of his grateful pupil, ' bears testimony to his 

 goodness of heart/ Mr. Faraday's account is as follows : 



' When I was a bookseller's apprentice, I was very fond of experi- 

 ment, and very averse to trade. It happened that a gentleman, a mem- 

 ber of the Royal Institution, took me to hear some of Sir H. Davy's last 

 lectures in Albemarle-street. I took notes, and afterwards wrote them 

 out more fairly in a quarto volume. My desire to escape from trade, 

 which I thought vicious and selfish, and to enter into the service oif 

 science, which I imagined made its pursuers amiable and liberal, 

 induced me at last to take the bold and simple step of writing to Sir H. 

 Davy, expressing my wishes, and a hope that if an opportunity came in 

 his way, he would favour my views ; at the same time I sent the notes 

 I had taken at his lectures.' 



Davy's answer was kind and encouraging; and shortly after the 

 situation of assistant in the Laboratory of the Royal Institution 

 becoming vacant, he recommended Mr. Faraday. 



